Returning home to Colorado following his trip to Brazil for UFC 153, middleweight prospect Chris Camozzi is happy about his unanimous decision victory over Luiz Cané, but feels it could have been better.

“I felt a little sloppy, but regardless, I felt like I won,” he said. “I feel like I did plenty to win, like pushing the pace and controlling the Octagon.

“It’s always a little nerve racking when it comes to decisions in MMA and when you’re in your opponent’s home country.”

Getting a chance to get some international exposure is a big step forward for Camozzi.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize that I’m only 25, so I should have a lot longer career and the more international exposure I get like this early on in my career the better, as opposed to later on,” he said.

“Everything went great and I feel even better heading into the next one.”

Camozzi’s win over Cané puts his UFC record at 5-2 (18-5 overall), and as he told MMAWeekly.com, it puts him one step closer to taking on the top competition in the division.

“I think I’ve pushed myself up another tier in the middleweight division,” he said. “Right now, I just need opportunities. I feel like I can hang with and beat the best guys in the division. I just need them to put me up against some of those ranked guys.”

Even though he is young, Camozzi would like the opportunity to face top talent sooner than later, and has a few ideas for who he’d like to test himself against at the next level.

“Right now, I’m ready to go and I’m ready to move up,” he said. “I’ve put together three wins in a row and I hope for my next fight that it will be on the main card and it’ll be against a big name.

“I’ve got my eye on some guys, like maybe the winner of Wanderlei Silva and Patrick Cote. I’ve got a lot of respect for them and I think they’re great fighters, and I think they match up well with me and it would make an exciting match for the fans.”

Editor’s Note: Wanderlei Silva and Patrick Cote were originally expected to fight on the UFC on Fuel TV 6 fight card in China, but was never finalized. Patrick Cote is instead facing Alessio Sakara on the UFC 154 fight card in Montreal.

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